Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Administrative Command Line Utilities (Part 2)

Now we continue covering Microsoft SQL Server command line utilities as started in Part 1 of this article. Let's jump right in ...

Replupd - Part of the SQL Server replication subsystem, Replupd is used for transferring replication parameters from previous versions of SQL Servers (v6.x).

Scm - A utility used to start/stop SQL Server and/or Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) services from a command prompt or a batch file (similar to using net start and net stop commands). Note, that the Scm utility can only be used with services installed by SQL Server.

Snapshot - The Replication Snapshot Agent utility configures and starts a replication Snapshot Agent, which prepares snapshot files of published tables and stored procedures, stores the files on the Distributor and records information about the synchronization status in the distribution database.

Sqlagent - This utility is used for starting the SQL Server Agent service from your operating system command prompt. sqlagent should be run from the command prompt only when diagnosing SQL Server Agent issues (SQL Server Agent should normally be run from the SQL Server Service Manager or by using SQL-DMO methods in an application).

Sqldiag - A tool that can be used for reports generation and collecting diagnostic information on current database server/Windows NT configuration parameters. Sqldiag gathers information even if Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 services have stopped. Hardware and software information about operating system configuration can be saved in the < Windows_NT_Server_NetBIOS_Name >.txt file report as generated by Sqldiag. A Sqldiag diagnostic report contains the following information:

• A complete dump of all Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 event logs;
  


• Registry "keys" information relating to Microsoft SQL Server 7.0;
  


• Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 system DLL libraries version information;
  


• Output generated by the following SQL Server stored procedures: sp_configure, sp_who, sp_lock, sp_helpdb, xp_msver and sp_helpextendedproc;
  


• Information about all system processes (master..sysprocesses);
  


• Information about all user processes and connections (including Input buffer SPIDs and Dead locks);
  


• Information about operating system parameters (including reports about: OS version, Video display, Drivers, DMA, Memory, Services, IRQ and ports, Devices, Environment and Network);
  


• Information about the last 100 user queries executed.

Sqlmaint - A maintenance utility that performs a specified set of tasks as specified by the DBA on one or more databases (for example, backup databases, update statistics, rebuild indexes, DBCC check, etc.). All database maintenance activities generate a report that can be sent to a designated text file, HTML file, or e-mail account.

Sqlservr - A utility used to start, stop, pause, and continue Microsoft SQL Server from an operating system command prompt.

Textcopy - A utility for copying large arrays of text and binary data to Text and Image data type fields. This undocumented utility (run it with the /? option to receive a set of acceptable command line parameters). The example of usage Textcopy command can be found in Pubimage.bat and Pubtext.bat files (both files are located in the %sqlroot%\install folder).

Vswitch - A utility for switching between SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 6.x as the active version of SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 can be installed alongside SQL Server 6.x on the same computer, but only one version can be active at a time. To switch from one version to the other, use the Microsoft SQL Server-Switch application on the Start menu or run Vswitch.exe in the %sqlroot%\Binn directory.

The utility does not allow both versions of SQL Server to be run simultaneously, and it is only intended to be used during the migration phase, not in daily production. The utility copies the current registry value to either the MSSQLSERV6.x or 7.0 registry key and then moves the desired version information (6.x or 7.0) to the MSSQLServer entry. Additionally, it changes the PATH statement to reflect the Mssql or Mssql7 directory.

Wiztrace - The Index Tuning Wizard workload generator.

Xfragent - A transfer agent that is part of the SQL Server replication subsystem. Xfragent is used for transferring some or all objects from one database to another. Transfers can be started immediately or can be  scheduled to occur either once or on a recurring basis.

See All Articles by Columnist Alexzander Nepomnjashiy